The Correlation Between Negative Religious Coping and Loneliness

Pamela Kriton

School of Psychology, Liberty University

Author Note

Pamela Kriton

I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Pamela Kriton. Email: [email protected]

Results

The sample size for this study consisted of 23 participants who completed a survey on negative religious coping and loneliness. Of those 23 surveys, only 22 were completed as instructed and used for analyses (N = 22). Ages ranged from 28 to 78, with a mean age of 58 and a standard deviation of 13.95912.

The study’s objective was to investigate whether there was a relationship between negative religious coping and loneliness. A Pearson’s r correlation test revealed no significant relationship between loneliness and negative religious coping r (20) = .591, p > .05 (two-tailed; see Table 1). The null hypothesis fails to be rejected. See Figure 1.

Table 1

Pearson’s r Correlation Test for Negative Religious Coping and Loneliness

Figure 1

Discussion

This study aimed to investigate whether there was a relationship between negative religious coping and loneliness. The study consisted of a survey that included Pargament et al. (2011) Negative subscale of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE) and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (RULS-6) by Wongpakaran et al. (2020). The results were entered into the IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 29), and a Pearson’s r correlation test was conducted and did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between negative religious coping and loneliness.

Limitations include the population of my friends on Facebook, where a link to the survey was posted. This population was limited to an older age group that may have more feelings of loneliness. In addition, the selection of friends on Facebook mostly has positive religious coping. These two combined factors have been found in earlier research to have a statistically significant effect on feeling less lonely among the elderly (Johnson & Mullins, 1989). Consequently, the population of participants reflects a sampling bias, resulting in threats to external validity.

As aforementioned in the introduction, numerous research studies have explored the complex interaction between religiosity and loneliness with many factors and varying measurement components. Bjorck and Thurman (2007) investigated whether there was a relationship between positive and negative religious coping, psychological functioning, and negative life events. Although their study was not predominately focused on negative religious coping and loneliness, their analysis found a relationship between negative religious coping and a decrease in the quality of life (Bjorck & Thurman, 2007). Ryff (2021) explains the findings of his earlier research on negative religious coping and its relationship to significant facets of the human experience, such as social isolation and meaning in life, with Passmore and Howell (2014) hypothesizing how these factors may affect loneliness.

Collectively, this empirical research demonstrates the impact of positive and negative religious coping on the quality of life and the need for the variables of interest in this study, negative religious coping, and loneliness, to be investigated cohesively. Thus, providing valuable information for professional healthcare workers, counselors, and clergymen to better serve the population relevant to the variables of interest.

Further research among a larger, randomized sample across all age groups is suggested to provide unbiased results with no threats to external validity.

2

RELIGIOSITY AND LONELINESS 2

T

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